Thorns blanked in final road game

Portland Thorns FC attempted a club record 15 shots on goal and forward
Christine Sinclair became the third player in National Women's Soccer League
history to register 10 or more shots in a match, but Thorns FC could not
overcome a two-goal halftime deficit in a 2-0 loss against the Boston Breakers
at Harvard Stadium on Sunday night.

Thorns FC (9-8-6, 33pts) remain in fourth place in the NWSL
standings with just one game remaining on the regular-season schedule. Still in
the race for the final two postseason berths – the Washington Spirit, Chicago
Red Stars, Western New York Flash and Sky Blue FC all mathematically remain
able to claim a spot in the playoffs as the regular season nears its
conclusion.

After conceding two early goals, Portland peppered Boston
goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher with 13 shots, including 10 on goal, in the second
half and finished with a 20-8 advantage overall in the match. Sinclair set a
Thorns FC single-game record for shots (11), becoming just the third player in
NWSL history to tally 10 or more shots in a match. Sinclair's seven shots on
goal set both a single-game record for the club and a NWSL record, breaking the
previous record set by forward Alex Morgan and FC Kansas City midfielder Lauren
Cheney (6).

Naeher kept Portland off the board with 10 saves in the match,
while Morgan, who finished the match with five shots (5 on goal), and
midfielder Amber Brooks each saw efforts cleared off the goal line in the
second half.

Portland pushed for a goal in the opening 20 minutes of the second
half as Sinclair turned outside the box and split a pair of defenders before
bending a shot towards the left post, but Naeher dove to her right to parry the
ball out for a corner kick in the 50th minute. In the 63rd minute, midfielder
Vero Boquete created space near the edge of the box, threading a ball into midfielder
Allie Long. Long fired a shot from inside the goal box, but Naeher dove to make
the save.

In the 14th minute, goalkeeper Nadine Angerer made the initial
save on defender Cat Whitehill's shot off a corner kick, but defender Rachel
Wood collected the loose ball and converted the rebound from inside the box to
put Boston in front, 1-0. The Breakers doubled their lead in the 28th minute,
as midfielder Lianne Sanderson quickly switched the point of attack to find
midfielder Heather O'Reilly breaking down the right flank. O'Reilly drove
towards the box and delivered a shot inside the upper left corner.

Thorns FC
return to the Rose City for their regular-season finale against Pacific
Northwest-rival Seattle Reign FC on Sunday, Aug. 17, at Providence Park.
Sunday's match, sponsored by Alaska Airlines, will be broadcast live
locally on Comcast SportsNet Northwest with a live webstream on ESPN3.com;
kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (Pacific).

Notes:

Portland tallied 20 shots in a match for the fourth time this
season on Sunday night.

Forward Christine Sinclair set single-game club records for shots
(11) and shots on goal (7), breaking the previous record of 10 shots set by
forward Alex Morgan on July 14, 2013 against Western New York and six shots on
goal by Morgan against Sky Blue FC on July 31, 2013.

Sinclair became just the third player in NWSL history to register
10 or more shots in a match along with Seattle Reign FC midfielder Megan
Rapinoe and Morgan

Sinclair's seven shots on goal set a NWSL single-game record,
surpassing Morgan and FC Kansas City midfielder Lauren Holiday's previous
record marks set in 2013 (6).

Thorns FC attempted a club record 15 shots on goal in the match.

Portland's 13 shots in the second half tied the team's record this
season for most shots in a half. Portland registered 13 shots in the second
half twice against Washington on June 15 and June 21.